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Volunteers From Salvation Army Heading To Texas For Disaster Relief

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Salvation Army of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware is preparing to send volunteers to Texas to help the hurricane-weary refugees.

Bob Myers is head of the Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services. He says after the basics: food, clothing, shelter....

Hurricane Harvey: Latest Developments:

"The next highest priority is for people's mental well-being," Myers said. "It's a very stressful, difficult time any time you and your family have been impacted by a major disaster like this, so the personnel that we're sending down that are trained, have those skill sets, sometimes it's nothing more than just listening to somebody who wants to tell the story."

Myers says just offering a listening ear, or a shoulder to cry on, can go a long way in healing what could be one of the greatest times of need for these people.

As for how long help will be needed...

"I don't often like to compare disasters, but it seems from everything that we're seeing, this is definitely gonna fall into that weeks and months for sure, potentially years for recovery," Myers said. "So it's definitely a marathon not a sprint."

He says anyone who wants to volunteer to help or make a monetary donation should visit the Salvation Army's website.

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